Steve's meeting at Midtown went extremely well. His first impression of Eugene 'Flash' Thompson was that the man was arrogant, and self-absorbed. Probably a bully in high school. But when he started talking about his own experiences in the war, and how he genuinely cares about the future of these kids, Steve started to respect the man more.

"War changes a person, Steve. I saw things in Fallujah that I hope to never see again. Kids left homeless, bodies on the sidewalks. And the sounds…"

"Screams in the night, the constant explosions, and watching your friends cut down in a firefight. All of that stays with you, Mr. Thompson."

"Please, call me Flash. Sounds like you've seen your share of the war as well."

"Fourteen years. I was first deployed in Egypt. The Howling Commandos and I were then sent to Baghdad. That's where I received my field promotion to Captain."

"So how long have you been back now?"

"Just a year. I was able to pick up almost exactly where I left off. Married the love of my life, finished my degree, and now I've got two kids on the way."

"It feels good to pick up where you left off doesn't it? College sweetheart?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"The love of your life, a college sweetheart?"

"Yes, in all the time I was gone there was never anyone else I wanted to be with."

"That's great. Yeah, my girlfriend and I stayed together even while I was away. So, what do you think of our school?"

"I think you have a great campus here. I would imagine the students enjoy coming. From what I can tell all of your staff is genuinely invested in seeing these kids succeed."

As they arrive back at the main office, Flash points to a sign.

"See that sign up there? It's Latin. Sedit qui timuit ne non succederet."

"He who feared he would not succeed, sat still."

"You know what it means?"

"My wife Natasha, speaks Latin. She learned it as part of her Art History degree. She taught me some."

"Well then, I think you're going to fit right in here, Steve. Congratulations, you've got the job."

After the hour long full tour of the campus, Steve heads home. His first day on the job will be a teacher in-service day the first week of August. He can't wait to tell Natasha the news. When he starts working she'll be in the final month of her pregnancy. When he gets there, she's sitting on the couch, working on her laptop.

"Hey sweetheart, how did the interview go?"

"I got the job, Nat. I'm going to be a teacher. What are you working on?"

"I'm just typing up a file for Carol. She needed a little help with the proposal for this next consultation. But you got the job? That's great news. When do you start?"

"There's a teacher in-service day on August 5th. I'll be meeting the rest of the staff. And I'm setting up my lesson plan for the first semester."

"So, this calls for a celebration. We should get our friends over here for this."

"Are you sure about that? I mean I thought we'd just have a night to ourselves. We could do this over the weekend."

"Uh-uh. While I would love that, Bobbi and Carol already told me that they want to have the baby shower tonight. Apparently they've been planning this for a week."

"When did you find this out?"

"Carol told me after she asked me to finish writing this proposal. I already told them that we're going to keep it low key."

Two hours later, the party was in full swing. In addition to all of their friends, Dr. Grey was invited along and she brought Scott. While the ladies talked and opened gifts, the guys engaged in a game of beach touch football. The game began as an argument between Clint and Scott over the better baseball team, the Yankees or the Mets. Steve and Bucky both joined in the game, though they wisely kept their allegiance to the Dodgers quiet.

"All right Summers, visiting team gets first pick. Choose your team-mate wisely."

"Challenge me all you want, Barton. This game can only end one way. I've got Stark."

"Okay, that's the opening salvo. Steve how about it?"

"I'm with you Clint."

"Okay then, Parker you're with me."

After a brief silent conversation, Steve convinces Clint to choose:

"Hey, Barnes. Up for joining the winning team?"

Down to the final two, Scott chose Bruce for Team Phoenix, and Sam was picked for Team Hawk.

"Okay, Summers wants this, bet he's going to try and block my throw. Clint, you're blocking Tony. Sam, keep Peter busy. Bruce may not be strong, but he's fast, you're on him Buck, but get open. We're going right for a touchdown."

"Hey ladies! Let's move this game along."

"You in a hurry to lose, Summers?"

"No, Barton. Watching paint dry is more interesting than waiting for your team to make the first play."

With his tactician's mind, Steve predicted exactly how the other team would line up. After the snap, all of Team Hawks' movements were perfectly executed. Standing face to face with Bruce, Bucky starts taunting.

"Come on Bruce; let's see if those chicken legs can keep up."

When the pass is made, Scott goes to block Steve, but the ball is already in the air. Bucky quickly outpaces Bruce and goes for the end-zone. The throw is a textbook spiral, landing right where it was aimed, with the first touchdown going to team Hawk. Scott's team quickly answered back with their own touchdown. The game would go back and forth like this with neither team gaining an edge. Because of this the game has gotten more intense and became full tackle.

"All right, Barton, we're all tied up. Final touchdown wins. Care to save yourself the embarrassment and concede?"

"Not a chance Summers. We've got the ball."

As Scott and his team huddle up, the ladies venture out on the porch to watch the rest of the game. They pretend not to take sides, but only because they're enjoying the sight.

"All right guys, we need an interception. Steve's got one hell of an arm. If he goes for the Hail Mary, we have to be ready for it. Peter, you're blocking Barnes. Keep him from catching whatever Steve throws. Bruce, you've got Sam, if he tries to take you down, a twist block should throw him off balance. Tony, keep that ball from flying. I've had enough of Barton's mouth. I've got him."

While they were discussing strategy, Steve made a change in their own line up.

"All right, Clint you started this. I think all's fair that you end it."

"Okay, here it is. No doubt they think Steve's going for the Hail Mary. I'm taking the snap. Sam, handoff-me to you. Bucky, you and Steve work in tandem with the block. Let's show them how this is done."

When the two teams line up again, the different formation throws Scott off. They have to quickly change to match. The snap is tossed into Clint's hands. He fakes the throw as Sam runs up beside him and takes the ball. Peter does attempt the twist block, but goes the wrong way, with Sam rushing past him. No one can catch him, and he hits the end-zone for the final touchdown. Clint and Scott reconcile their argument.

"Good game Scott. You almost had us there."

"Not a bad play Barton. Steve had been Q.B. the whole game. That was a nice change-up."

At the end of the day, the group all enjoyed the party. New friends were made, with Steve and Natasha getting all they needed for the arrival of their children.